Soldier

"The best soldier they ever created just became their worst nightmare."

1998 1h 39m EN

😐

6.4

MID

🥫

19%

ROTTEN

⭐

6.1

IMDB

★6.4TMDB · 1,008🥫19%Rotten Tomatoes★6.1IMDB · 62,406

Science FictionActionDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Sergeant Todd is a veteran soldier for an elite group of the armed forces. After being defeated by a new breed of genetically engineered soldiers, he is dumped on a waste planet and left for dead. He soon interacts with a group of crash survivors who lead out a peaceful existence. The peace is broken as the new soldiers land on the planet to eliminate the colony, which Sergeant Todd must defend.

“The best soldier they ever created just became their worst nightmare.”

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Cast

Kurt Russell
Todd 3465
Jason Scott Lee
Caine 607
Jason Isaacs
Colonel Mekum
Connie Nielsen
Sandra
Sean Pertwee
Mace
Gary Busey
Church
Michael Chiklis
Jimmy Pig
Sara Paxton
Angie

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Paul W. S. Anderson
Writers: David Webb Peoples
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $75M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 19% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

28 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

231+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, shot by David Tattersall. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Joel McNeely. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Martin Hunter shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Paul W. S. Anderson directs. David Tattersall behind the camera. Joel McNeely scores. Martin Hunter cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $75M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Earned back only 19% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
328 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.
5231+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, shot by David Tattersall. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Joel McNeely. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Martin Hunter shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Kurt Russell and Jason Scott Lee and Jason Isaacs carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "The best soldier they ever created just became their worst nightmare.".
11IMDB entry: tt0120157 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 19 themes, including "spacecraft", "space marine", "showdown", "war veteran".

The technical file

Cinematography: David Tattersall
Original score: Joel McNeely
Editing: Martin Hunter
Production design: David L. Snyder
Costume design: Erica Edell Phillips
Makeup / hair: Peggy Semtob
VFX supervisor: Van Ling
Sound: Mark P. Stoeckinger
Stunt coordinator: Mark De Alessandro
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $75,000,000
Box office: $14,594,226
Return: 19% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Soldier (1998)
Rotten Tomatoes: 19% 🥫 Rotten
IMDB rating: 6.1/10 · 62,406 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

1 nomination total

Also by

Paul W. S. Anderson

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Sierbahnn2026-05-01
★ 7/10
This is not a masterpiece, but it is a solid action-movie with a fantastic protagonist and a lovely premise and plot. The staging is hokey at points, but it looks good enough, the characters are engaging and the action punchy. Kurt of course steals the show completely, and the character has a great arc. This is well-directed and deserves more credit than it got when it was released.

Production companies